Ski mountaineering has a vast history in the Alps of northern Italy, so it’s fitting that the sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Games being held in Milano and Cortina.
The sport, a race in which athletes hike and ski up a mountain and then ski back down, was added to the Olympic program in 2021, with the first competitions set to take place in 2026 in Bormio, an Italian mountain town tucked between the Games’ two main host cities.
While ski mountaineering is inspired by the need to traverse the snow-covered landscapes of Europe in prehistoric times, the sport can be officially traced back to 1897 when German Wilhelm Paulcke crossed the Bernese Oberland — a mountain region of Switzerland — on skis.
Informally known as “skimo,” ski mountaineering really took off in the 21st century. By 2002, the sport became big enough to host its first world championships in Serre Chevalier, France. The biennial event has been held during odd-numbered years since 2011, alternating with continental championships in Asia, Europe and North America. Meanwhile, ski mountaineering was added to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020.
Italy has long been a hotbed for skimo, with the sport’s popularity booming over the past decade. In 2010–11, there were 33,000 participants in the country compared to more than 94,000 today.
While Europe has the deepest tradition with skimo, its expansion to countries around the world has allowed the sport the chance to be displayed on the biggest stage winter sports has to offer.
How It Works
The concept of ski mountaineering is fairly simple: Competitors climb up a mountain on skis and by foot, then descend on skis. Whoever crosses the finish line first wins.
Athletes follow a designed course throughout the race, and they must navigate terrain that is more rugged than that in a traditional cross-country or alpine ski race.
There are multiple skimo events, including individual mass start races — the most popular discipline in the U.S. — team races, sprint races, vertical races and relay races.
The 2026 Olympics will feature three medal events: men’s sprint, women’s sprint and mixed gender relay.
Sprint events are fast-paced races that typically cover around 80 meters (263 feet) of elevation. In around a three-minute span, athletes race up and down the mountain through a marked course that contains tight turns. The first part of the race is on foot, with athletes either cross-country skiing or hiking while carrying their skis on their back. Once they reach the top, the athletes ski down a giant slalom-like course to the finish line.
A sprint competition resembles that of skicross and snowboardcross. It begins with time trials to establish seeding. From there, groups of six athletes compete together, with the top finishers from each group moving on to the next round until just six athletes remain. The final six-person group races for the medals.
The mixed gender relay takes place on a longer course than the sprint races, as competitors traverse up a course of roughly 150 to 180 meters (492 to 591 feet). A team of one male and one female athlete takes turns navigating the course.
Course Layout & Equipment
Ski mountaineering is unlike other skiing events at the Olympics because of the climbing element. In order to move uphill on skis, competitors use rubber membranes, called “skins,” on the bottom of their skis to stop them from moving backward. Once a competitor reaches the top of the mountain, they remove their skins, lock into their skis and race down the course.
The part of the course for on-foot climbing, called “bootpacking” in skimo, is marked with yellow flags. A racer’s skis must be attached to their backpack for this stretch of a race.
The uphill skiing portion of a course is marked with green flags. Skiers must wear skins during this phase of a race, and they get penalized if they walk in this part of the course, even if it’s due to an equipment malfunction.
The start of the downhill course is marked with red flags. Skiers must remove their skins before heading down the course, and they have to wear a helmet during this portion of the race as well.
The Olympic qualification period for skimo will run from Nov. 1, 2024, to Dec. 21, 2025. There are 36 spots available at the Games, with 18 going to each gender.
Luke Hanlon is a sportswriter and editor based in Minneapolis. He is a freelance contributor to usaskimo.org courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
